A recent post on X reads “Your brain literally gets stronger when you do something you don’t want to do.” One might ask, “What exactly is meant by stronger?” Is the brain like a muscle?
Neuroscientist and podcaster Andrew Huberman, who speaks in the post video, clarifies by highlighting a brain hub he calls the “seat of willpower,” the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC). This central part of the brain receives a myriad of signals from other brain regions and serves numerous cognitive functions, which include our tenacity in the face of challenges.1
On “Ask Huberman Lab,” Huberman states that the aMCC can be trained by performing difficult tasks in order to build resilience and persistence. Every time one chooses to do something one doesn’t want to do—such as extra reps at the gym—the aMCC is activated, and the neural circuits involved with tenacity and willpower are strengthened.2 The point being, to fuel motivation and personal achievement.
Much of the accessible information supporting this argument derives from Huberman’s own research on the aMCC and neuroplasticity. However, an analogous article published by The Neuroscience School references a review paper by Lisa Feldman Barrett PhD, a neuroscientist and Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University. “The research shows that the aMCC is linked to…grit and determination, and with deciding to keep going even when things get tough. Essentially, it’s involved in weighing the effort required against the potential reward and pushing through challenges.”3
Barrett adds that to strengthen the aMCC, one should set personal challenges, opting for activities or goals that take one out of one’s comfort zone: tackling a new language, learning to play the piano, or training for a marathon, with the aim of building endurance and speed. “Like working out a muscle, these challenges can help increase the aMCC’s capacity, enhancing our overall willpower in any domain.”4
A more detailed study published by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Northeastern University (including Dr. Barrett) notes that tenacity contributes to better academic performance, career achievements, and health outcomes. “Tenacity is a powerful predictor of health and achievement…with emerging evidence indicating that greater aMCC structure and function are linked to tenacious behavior in many domains of life and health.”5
- ai.hubermanlab.com/s/Scu_c0ag
- Ibid
- neuroscienceschool.com/2024/02/01/how-to-train-the-brain-for-greater-willpower/
- Ibid
- pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7381101/